EVA#12 Report - April 1st, 2016.
Crew members: Commander Mathieu Roiseux, Journalist Nadine Traufler,
Engineer Gregory Edison, Geologist Arthur Bawin.
Location:
517802E 4254655N
515111E 4253284N
516100E 4254380N
ATV: 2-3-4-5
Time: Departure 2:00 pm - Return 4:45 pm
Purposes:
Testing the antenna and retrieve the lost compass.
Summary:
We quickly got to the road where yesterday's team dropped the compass,
right after the crossroads, north of the now dried river. We had no
trouble finding it, as it was black and we could see it from the
ATV's, which is good news !
As we were going quite far from the station, we performed some
communication tests for our XO's antenna experiment, and checked whether
or not we got signal from the station. This was successful, as it led to
the expected results. We went on and followed the road, to make two
more tests, then made a u-turn, and decided to get back to the MDRS.
Please note: We realized 10 minutes later that there was some kind of
problem with the ATV #4 rear brake: apparently, some screws detached
from the structure, and a piece of the brake, which is supposed to
tighten the disk, is now completely loose, leaving no braking for the
rear shaft. We tightened it with two ropes, and got back to the MDRS
without losing any other piece. This incident will be part of the
engineer's daily report, and shall need some further investigation and
repair: 2 new screws from the shop may be enough, but we'll advise
the next crew to be extra cautious, as it may not be fixed within the
2 or 3 next days... Apart from that, the EVA went on well (-: